Check if you need permission or approval for home improvements

You may need both planning permission and building regulations approval when doing work to your property.

You can read about the difference between planning permission and building regulations.

Building regulations ensure that new buildings, conversions, renovations and extensions are safe, healthy and perform well.

This is for:

• domestic home improvements
• work to commercial and non-residential properties
• new buildings and extensions to existing buildings (including loft conversions)
• change of use of all or part of a building (for example converting a shop into a home, splitting a house into flats, or changing a garage into a room)
• changes that affect the structure of a building, or have an impact on fire safety or access
• new washing or sanitary facilities, hot water cylinders, and drainage
• electrical installations in homes
• replacement windows and external doors
• new fuel-burning appliances
• cavity wall insulation
• underpinning

You may not need approval to carry out minor building work.

This includes work on:

• conservatories
• porches
• carports or covered yards
• small detached buildings that don't have a space to sleep or extensions to buildings like this

If you think your work does not need building regulations approval you should:

• contact the Building Control team before you start the work
• check with the Building Control team if you're building a conservatory or porch

You can also:

• read how to make a building regulations application
• read more about building regulations approval on GOV.UK